Published 10:40 IST, May 17th 2020
US records 25,060 new coronavirus cases, 1,224 fatalities in 24 hours
This comes when more than 40 states in the US announced the formal “re-opening plans” as President Donald Trump discussed new guidelines to lift restrictions.
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The United States has recorded at least 25,060 new confirmed cases and 1,224 fatalities from the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, according to a tally. A total of 1,507,773 people have been infected with the disease so far, and as many as 90,113 have succumbed to COVID-19. New York state has accounted for 348k out of the total cases and over 22,478 deaths alone as of May 17.
This comes when more than 40 states in the US announced the formal “re-opening plans” as President Donald Trump discussed new guidelines to lift restrictions. Trump laid out a vision at the round table to pivot from the pandemic to restore pre-coronavirus normalcy — “with or without” a vaccine, as he said.
Announcing the state-by-state formal plan at a press conference streamed online, US President Trump said, "America wants to be open and Americans want to be open. A national shutdown is not a sustainable long-term solution." Further, he added, “healthy citizens would be able to return to work as conditions allow" while speaking at the round table. “I don’t want people to get used to this,” Trump told US reporters. “I see the new normal being what it was three months ago.”
However, in opposition to Trump’s hasty lifting of the coronavirus restrictions, while the cases surmount, more than 120 restaurants in Atlanta state in the US refused to open businesses, as per local media reports. Restaurant owners in Atlanta and Savannah that operate more than 120 restaurants said that they were against the state law that allowed the dining rooms to resume operations. They started the “#GAHospitalityTogether” initiative to oppose the reopening that includes award-winning chefs from across the country, as per the reports. According to the new guidelines, Georgia ordered the restaurants to operate at 50 per cent capacity and asked the businesses to “reopen”.
Deaths don't stop in New York
Meanwhile, New York witnessed a staggering death toll across the nursing homes that shocked public officials, according to media reports. The number of bodies became so overwhelming the home ordered a refrigerator truck to store them because funeral homes have been taking days to pick up the deceased. The nursing homes also encountered staffing shortages, prompting to hire from outside agencies while the challenges of securing personal protective equipment for employees remained, US media reports confirmed.
(With Agency Inputs) (Image Credit: AP)
10:40 IST, May 17th 2020